Written by

Aamer Madhani and Catalina Camia
| USA Today

President Obama set a defiant tone Wednesday in his first news conference since he was re-elected, refusing to back down on taxes, defending his U.N. ambassador against GOP attacks and declining to criticize the FBI's handling of the investigation of his CIA director.

Obama insisted that he was committed to keeping his promise to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, setting him at loggerheads with GOP lawmakers who say they are unwilling to consider raising taxes as the two sides ramp up negotiations on avoiding the looming "fiscal cliff."